Christian Comics Represent
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on August 15, 2006 Sign up now!
by Laurel Maury, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 8/15/2006
Comics with religious content have a limited but distinctive presence in the book market, and it was much the same at the recent San Diego Comic-con. There were at least three Christian comics publishers on hand: the Christian Comic Arts Society; Robert James Luedke, creator of the Eye Witness Trilogy, a graphic novel version of the Gospels retold in the form of a contemporary mystery/thriller; and the African-American religion publisher Urban Ministries Inc., which unveiled a new venture with Michael Davis, co-founder of Milestones, DC Comics' now defunct multi-cultural imprint, to launch the Guardian Line, a series of black superhero comics combining action and religious content. Buzz Dixon, creator of the Christian original manga Serenity, was also around, representing Act One, a faith-based Hollywood group with the mission of getting more Christians and Christian content into the movie industry, including comics material.
Luedke is a writer and illustrator and the creator of Acts of the Spirit, the second volume of his Eyewitness trilogy self-published by his own Head Press Publishing. The first book in the series, Eyewitness Book One: A Fictional Tale of Absolute Truth, was published in 2004. Eyewitness Book Two: Acts of the Spirit was released in July, and both books are available through Christian bookstores and the general bookstore market.
CCAS is affiliated with Community Comics (http://www.communitycomics.com/), a studio of comics professionals and new independent artists that publishes a list of more than 20 professional, expertly produced, Christian-oriented comics. Community Comics publishes writer/artist Royden Lepp's David, a series based on the biblical story, with David reimagined as an anime-style boy. CCAS also does the fantasy series Armor Quest, by writer Ben Avery and artist Sherwin Schwartzrock. CCAS is also affiliated with Comix35 (http://comix35.gospelcom.net), an international Christian ministry devoted to training Christians in creating comics that can be used to spread the gospel. CCAS is also the publisher of Christian Guide to Comics 2006.
At Urban Ministries Inc., Davis has brought on Lovern Kindzierski, a veteran writer who has worked for Marvel and DC Comics, and is presenting Guardian comics as a Christian comics line created by comics insiders, not emerging creators trying to break into the mainstream industry with Christian content. "I want to do something that featured people of color and that was positive," says Davis, who believes the time is right for Christian comics. He was also looking for get professional and knowledgeable publishing support from UMI, which has 40 years' experience in publishing. "So much is dark now in comics," says Davis. "Family programming of all sorts has been treated as a niche market. I think the country has shifted to wanting something different."
Act One is a group of Christians in the film industry. The group can claim some big-deal names, such as Dan Batalli, producer of That '70s Show; Ralph Winter, producer of X-Men; Fantastic Four producer Phil Anschutz; and screenwriters Lee and Janet Batchelor. Despite this wealth of talent, Act One has yet to produce its own graphic novels.
Lee Partible, who worked with Buzz Dixon to launch the Serenity Christian manga, is directing Act One's program. Unlike other Christian comics activists, Partible believes labeling comics as specifically Christian isn't the best way to build a Christian comics market. "We're trying to fight the ghettoization of Christian material," says Partible. He says it's his job to teach would-be Christian movie moguls how to develop movie content using graphic novels. "We don't just want to make G and PG content, we want to make R-rated content, too. We want to make the Christian American Splendor."
